


Red Fire

by virus21



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2020-09-26 02:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20382340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virus21/pseuds/virus21
Summary: Bette Kane was nothing more than a rich socialite. She had no interest in the hectic world of superheroes. That is, until the man known as Red Hood literally crashes into her life. Now thrown into this strange life, she might have to take a costume herself.





	1. Prologue

Red Fire

As cliché as it was to say, it was a dark and stormy night. There was something to be said about having a window on the ceiling as one Bette Kane had. It was a nice sight to see. Bette liked to use it as way to relax. She didn't know if it was the sight of the rain sliding off the glass or the sound of the drops on it, she found it soothing. 

She didn't know why, but some of her thoughts drifted to her teenage years at school. She remembered her friendship with Artemis Crock and the fling with the freshman as she called him, Dick Grayson. Never thought she would score with a younger guy, but whatever.

They she heard it. It wasn't the sounds of rain or thunder. It sounded more like a....fight? On the roof? Granted it was Gotham, so gangs and the such were common, but why the roof? Unless....no it couldn't be. What the heck were the chances of the infamous Batman being on her roof top? Besides, he usually stuck to the poorer areas of the city. At least, that's what she was told. She decided it was probably nothing and went to the bathroom. 

When she returned to the living area, the sounds were now louder and were getting closer. Suddenly, a banging noise and then a scream. Then silence. What was going on out there? The silence was broken by the sound of pressure being applied to glass. Then small cracking noise. Them Bette felt a drop of water hit her face. She slowly looked up and saw a shape right in top of her skylight. She has little time to process this before the skylight broke and a body fell down to her loft.

Better jumped back, shocked at what just happened. After getting over her shock, she slowing crawled over to see what had fell into her penthouse. It was large man, dressed in a costume. But it wasn't Batman or any of the other masked people of the city. He was wearing armor with a leather jacket. He had a symbol on his chest, not a bat, but what looked like a red mask. Speaking of which, he had a mask or rather helmet on; one of crimson red. He looked more like a robot than a man in a suit and if it wasn't for the bullet wound on his lower side, she would have thought he was one.

She got closer, seeing if he was still alive. He was breathing and moving a little. Bette didn't know what to do. This was just insane, all of it. Bette couldn't have known at the time, but this event would change the course of her life forever.


	2. The Red Hood

Chapter One: The Red Hood

Bette had no idea what to do. Here she was in the middle of her living room with a mask man laying in the middle of it with a wound in his torso after he has fell through her skylight. She thought about calling the police, but she doubt that it would a good idea. It might alert who ever did this to were he was. The point was made moot when the red mask man rose, strangely showing little signs of pain.

“Oh crap, I hope your not house sitting, because that is going to be pricey” the red masked man said, referring to the skylight.

“How are you, I mean, aren't you”?

“My suit has a device that's pumping anesthetic into me” He explained “Still hurts like a bitch though”.

The man sat on the couch and pulled a device of some sort from his jacket. It resembled a glue gun, though Bette doubt it was though. The masked man placed the tip if the device on his wound, a blue gel coming out if it. He had a moment of discomfort and Bette could see a small stream of smoke coming from the gel. She was smart enough to realize that it was likely something to cauterize the wound and burn out infection. 

Bette was reluctant to address him, as any sane person would. But she figured that she would have to “Do you need help or something”? The masked man looked up “Just keep quite. And if you're wondering if the guys who did this are on their way, I lost them several blocks back. I only collapsed because the anesthetic hadn't kicked in yet. Never trust prototypes”.

Bette took what he said in. Everything screamed call the cops. But considering that even with a wound this guy looked dangerous. Also, he seemed to go out of his way to state that the people after him weren't coming, provided he wasn't being honest.

The masked man took out a capsule of some kind and swallowed it. “It's a pill that helps increase blood production” he explained. How many medical things did this guy have? 

“How...how long are you staying”? Bette asked, nervously.

“Just until the pill kicks in” the masked man explained “It should be about 10 to 15 minutes”. This did little to comfort Bette. 

“So who are you”? She asked.

“The Red Hood” It wasn't a name Bette was familiar with. Most people knew the costume people in Gotham. The news was making bank on stories about them. Red Hood wasn't one she had heard of. Was he a new one? He wasn't an amateur given the equipment he seem to have and he seemed to keep his cool in this particular situation. 

“So what your name?” The Red Hood asked. Bette didn't want to answer, for obvious reasons. Still, its if he wanted to harm her, he could have at this point “Bette. Bette Kane”.

“Kane huh. I guess this fancy place is yours. The Kane's are like second only to Bruce Wayne in scope in this city” Which is true. The Kane Family were one of the oldest and wealthiest families in Gotham, having hands or even full ownership of many of the businesses in the city. Bruce Wayne was still a bigger deal and the Kane's never seem to match him.

The tension was broken by the sound of voices not far from the broken skylight “Shit, the bastards are persistent” Red Hood said “What is the quickest way out of the building besides the front door”?

“Can't you...?”

“This wound was from a sniper” Red Hood interrupted “If they can pierce my suit, my helmet isn't going to do jack and I don't need some jack-off getting bonus points off of me”. 

Bette was trying to compose herself. She wanted out of this craziness as soon as possible “There is a service exit in the basement. It should lead to the alley way”.

“Thank you. But you may want to hightail it out of here for now” Red Hood said “They see the broken skylight, they'll know I was here. When you return, just tell the cops it was a robbery, the jerks will likely wreck a few things, so the cops will buy it”. Bette was not happy to hear that. Not like she couldn't replace most of her belongings, she certainly could, she just didn't think she should be put in that situation. 

Still, she listened to the Red Hood's words and figured she should leave. She grabbed her coat and followed the Red Hood out. Bette pointed to the elevator that would take him to the basement as she walked towards another elevator that lead to the front door. 

As the Red Hood left, he turned to address Bette “You know, you took this all in pretty well. You got good nerves for a rich girl”. After that he continued to walk away, Bette going in the opposite direction. 

Bette was still trying to process it all: An vigilante or she assumed, had crashed into her penthouse and now goons were going in to look for him and she was fleeing her home for who knows how long. After she got over the shock of it all, she realized that her hearts was still pounding, adrenaline still coursing through her. It wasn't fear or shock or even nervousness as it had been before. It was something else entirely. 

Excitement.


	3. Cisco

It wasn't the most glamorous of bases, it didn't need to be. It just needed to be functional. And a abandoned auto part factory was perfect for what he need. Parts, tools for repairing and space for equipment. Plus it was so off the beaten path, people were less likely to look into the place. To Jason, it worked.

And thankfully, he wasn't alone here.

At a rather large computer, almost as big as Batman's, was a young man barley out of his teens working on some tech specs. His concentration was interrupted when he heard the front entrance open.

“Back already Jay”? The young man asked. His lack of concern was shattered when he saw the condition the Red Hood was in and rushed over.

“Christ, Jay! What the hell happened”? He asked, trying to hold up Jason and wondering how he even made it back with that wound. He place Jason on near by examination table and removed the Red Hood armor to look at the wound.

“Man alive! Must bin a hell of a slug to do this” It would have to be. While the Red Hood suit wasn't some power armor, it was tough even as a prototype. So to do this it would have to be really high powered. The young man, Cisco Ramon, made the armor, so he would know.

“Want to tell me what happened”? Cisco asked.

Jason rose his head up or at least trying to “Was taking out some punks on the roof tops. They looked like the regular street trash. Guess not since one sniped me”.

“Might not be part of the same group. Maybe someone gunning for you. You've made a few enemies in the short time you've been Red Hood” Cisco made a good point. Anyone determined enough would have knew were he patrolled and waited for him to get into range. Said person signed his death warrant.

“Hey did you crash into a window” Cisco asked, pulling some glass out of the suit.

“Skylight actually” Jason replied “Belonged to a rich chick”.

“Was she hot”? Still a young man Cisco was. Then again, Jason was barley better “Not bad for a socialite. Pretty accepting with the whole masked man falling into her home. Though she was a Gotham girl, so you would almost have to have strong nerves”.

“Gotham girl? You knew her”?

“Not personally” Jason replied “She was part of big rich family in Gotham. Dick, Babs and Arty went to school with her. Bette Kane was her name”.

“Should of asked her on a date, man. Hot rich girl could be a good thing for you” Again, despite his smarts, Cisco was still young.

“Nah, high class women are no good for someone like me”

Cisco finished sealing up the wound with stitches and a healing compound. He then gave Jason a bottle of fluid meant to increase blood production. 

Cisco walked over that the Red Hood suit “Damn, I liked that suit too. At least I got the final product done”.

Jason rose up, a excited look on his face “You got it working”!? Cisco nodded and walked over to a large case. He turned on a nearby light and the case lit up revealing a more advanced looking suit. It was less a old fashioned superhero suit and more a sci-fi super suit.

“Nice. Let me guess, you watch a lot of Japanese superhero shows”? Cisco didn't confirm or deny Jason's question and just asked for him to try the suit on. Jason put on his new costume and it fit like a glove. He began doing fight moves, trying to get a feel of the new suit.

“Not bad, but I was hoping for a little more flash” Jason said, sounding a little disappointed.

“Hey now, you haven't seen what this thing really can do” said a eager Cisco “And when we load this baby with rest of the weapons, you'll be a regular one man army”!

“Sounds good to me” Jason said “Why don't we see what this thing can do”.

The next afternoon, in the penthouse of Bette Kane, the skylight was still broken. And as the Red Hood said, the people looking for him did ransack the place. Thankfully, they didn't take anything and the police did buy the story that it was just a break-in. Bette had already called people in to replace the skylight and clean the place up.

After walking over the broken remains of her skylight, she headed to her computer and opened a search engine. Her search: Red Hood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short the chapter was. I will try to make it longer next time.


	4. Planning Stage

Jump City wasn't Gotham or Metropolis, but it was hardly a middle of nowhere city. After a large technology boom, the city was fast approaching dominance in future tech. Sadly, this also brought some scrutiny as the city was being compared to William Gibson novel. 

Over the skyline was the mega-corp, Darhk International. Like a real life Tower of Babel, it looked down on the masses below. Inside was it's head, Damian Darhk, a man around 40 or so, hair so blond that it almost appeared white. Darhk liked this, likening himself to a wizard. How little did anyone know how close that was to the truth.

“Does anyone want to tell me, how some vigilante in Gotham not only disrupted our underground operations in that city, but also avoided some of the best mercs money can buy?!” needless to say, he was not happy at the moment.

One of the men in his board room, a now very nervous man named Jurgens rose “He was....luckier than we thought he'd be”.

Darhk rose from his chair, a eerily calm look on his face “Luckier? So, that's your excuse. He was lucky”?! Jurgens simply nodded. Darhk said nothing, merely stared at Jurgens blankly. Jurgens' face started to contort, eyes bugging and veins pulsating. He was gasping for life, twitching on the floor. Suddenly as it started, it stopped, Jurgens alive, but not in the best shape.

“Now, would anyone else want to give me explanation” Darhk said “One that isn't completely idiotic”. 

Another man, Torlain, rose “We underestimated him. If he manage to survive we will be ready”.

“I would hope so” Darhk answered “We were only stopped from expanding into Gotham due to a combination of Batman and his ilk and the fact that we would have to deal with the Light's pointless operations. Now that the Light is gone and scattered, the Bat's attention will be elsewhere. We only have a small window to advance, legally or otherwise”.

Darhk continued on “We can risk out operations because a low level wannabe hero exposed us.. It is the fact that we are here that keeps the chance of that happening.....for now. But we need to be cautious. Anything the could get the Batman's attention would eventually bring the Justice League down on us. Continue our operations in Gotham and if our red helmet friend gets in the way.....”

Darhk looked at a nearby bust. Without a flinch from Darhk, the bust shattered. The rest of the board room got the message clearly. 

Bette had finished her web search. From what she found, the Red Hood wasn't one person, but more of an urban legend. The Red Hood had been a identity that had been handed down through the criminal underworld, from crime lords who wanted to inspire fear or given to pantys in order to drive attention away from the real masterminds.

The take away is that it was an identity of criminals. The first thought was that this Red Hood was a criminal and that the people after him were rivals for territory. But something in the back of Bette's head said otherwise. Why not force her to comply? Sure, he was wounded, but that would hardly stop a hardened criminal. If anything, it would make him more desperate. And the gear that even a novice in such things could see was high tech and state of the art. That wasn't something a run of the mill Gotham criminal was likely to have.

Bette picked up her phone and dialed. Within seconds, the call was answered “Hello, Kane Corporation”.

“Hello, this is Bette Kane”

“Oh, hello Miss Kane. How may I help you”?

“Yes, can you get me an appointment with the Advance Technology Department”?

Back at Jason's hangout, Cisco was on his computer, investigating who could be responsible for the attack last night. A yell from him indicates success.

“What have you found Cisco”? Jason asked.

“Well I have been looking into the attack, seeing if anything one had the sniper skills to get the drop on you and anyone who could have a slug of the type that got you and I may have found something” Jason said nothing, letting Cisco continue.

“There has been some activity in Gotham recently. Lots of gang activity popping up, many with high tech muscle”.

“Nothing unusual about that” Jason interrupted.

“Except, these aren't big league mafia types or some of the super villain community. Many of them are hired help and middle men. It looks like outside of the guards, who's ever behind this is trying to keep under radar”.

Jason thought about and it made sense. Batman and the others would have found out otherwise. The fact that Bruce of all people hasn't already cracked this means these guys are making a massive effort to stay outside the cross-hairs. Jason was just in the right place at the right time.

“Any chance of you finding out where these guys might be?” Jason asked.

“Of course, but it might take me a while.” Cisco answered “These guys are covering their tracks big time.”

Jason let Cisco continue as he examined his new suit. These guys were likely going to be packing heavy firepower and he wanted to be ready.


End file.
